The search is on for our next youth partner! Sex Education Forum are looking for a group of young people who have started to take action to improve Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) – whether that’s at school or in the community - and would like to form a 12-18 month partnership with us to help take your plans further.
We know that effective partnerships benefit all involved. We have secured funding from National Lottery Community Fund to enable us to offer a structured partnership, which includes one-to-one mentoring, support with action-planning and access to funding.
To be eligible to apply, your group must be led by young people. You might describe your group as a club, group of friends or volunteers, a social action group, a campaign, or a grassroots organisation. You need to have a goal related to improving, including and extending RSE for young people.
We welcome groups that are driven by your own experiences in life, and the expertise this gives you. We seek to positively include people from a diversity of backgrounds, including different races, cultures, religions, genders, sexual orientation and abilities.
What to expect from a partnership with Sex Education Forum
1. Firstly, we’ll spend time understanding your goals, and then draw up a joint partnership agreement, which includes an action plan
2. We’ll support you with funding and how to plan a budget
3. Through our wide-ranging networks we’ll link you up with people who can help, giving you access to relevant expertise, whether that’s to do with creating change in the local community or influencing the agenda nationally
4. Sex Education Forum staff members will provide mentorship and monthly calls to check-in with progress
5. Make it Mandatory will provide peer mentorship, sharing their expertise in running a successful youth-led grassroots organisation
6. Our partnership will last between 12 and 18 months, starting in Spring 2026. Towards the end of our partnership we’ll help you plan for the future.
What we would expect from your group
1. A clear sense of purpose, with a focused goal that you’d like to achieve around improving RSE for young people
2. A team-work approach, with defined roles in the group and processes for making decisions
3. Commitment to give your time on a voluntary basis towards your cause, including a one-hour monthly check in with Sex Education Forum
4. Sharing your insights and expertise as young people with the Sex Education Forum to inform our work
Case-study - Make it Mandatory
Make it Mandatory is a youth-led campaign group who have worked in partnership with Sex Education Forum. Their main goal is that RSE doesn’t stop at the end of secondary. They want the law to change to extend RSE so that it is taught to young people aged 16 to 18 years old. Through the partnership it has been possible to get the support of more and more people including influential organisations and politicians. Make it Mandatory have used funding from the partnership to organise a petition hand-in activity outside No 10 Downing Street, run an event in Parliament (featured in a Channel 4 documentary) and launch a website.
In September 2025, the possibility of a change in the law to extend RSE to 18 was debated in the Houses of Parliament. The overall goal of seeing the law change is getting closer. It might not happen by the end of this year, but many steps have been taken, and Make it Mandatory has new networks, connections and skills to use in future.
Applications close on 31 January 2026. Read on to find out more about what you will need to do to apply.
Criteria for making an application
Please check that you meet these criteria before completing your application. If you are unsure then send us an email and we’ll get back to you.
1. A wish to improve RSE for young people: Your goal might be to improve RSE in a particular place such as a school, in a residential or community setting, in the place where you live or nationwide. You might have a focus on young people who are currently missing out on the RSE they need, and you can see a way to change that. Perhaps there is a topic that you think should be taught in RSE but is neglected, or an environment where more support is needed, such as for parents, carers or elders to get more involved.
2. You need a goal that you’d like to achieve by the end of the year: Your group has decided on a focus. Even if your goal feels like a long way off, you have a vision to work towards and you have taken some steps towards this already.
3. You have formed a group or organisation: You have formed a group, and your group works as a team (of at least two people). It could be a youth social action group, grassroots organisation or club. There are some existing processes for running your group or organisation, such as roles and responsibilities for individuals and a process for making decisions. You don’t have to be registered as a charity.
4. Youth led: Your group is led by young people. You might not all be the same age, but mostly the group is run by young people aged 16-25.
5. England and the UK: Your group is focused on improving RSE within England. It could also be relevant to the United Kingdom as a whole.
Timeline for applications
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Applications will close on 31st January 2026
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The applications that fit our criteria most closely will be shortlisted, and then we’ll invite you to meet us online.
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All shortlisted applicants will be offered a free one-to-one mentoring session with the Sex Education Forum, designed to support you going forwards.
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The successful applicant will be confirmed and announced in February 2026.
How to apply
To make your application you’ll need to complete our online form. There are some basic questions to answer. Please write in your original words, and don’t rely on AI to do the thinking! Please don’t worry about formalities – we want you to express yourself in the application in a way that is comfortable.
You are welcome to submit a video as part of your application, but you need to let us know that you would like to submit a video first by emailing [email protected]. A copy of the application questions can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. We can also provide the application form as a Word document, please email [email protected] if you would like this.
Apply to become a Youth Partner (opens a Microsoft FORM to complete)
Here are some tips on how to make an application:
- Permission: Check that you have the permission of others in your group to share the information you are sharing, and to make this application on their behalf
- Privacy: Consider what information you are comfortable sharing in your application and what should stay private. We want to know about your passion for RSE and won’t base our decisions on personal information. The information in your form (and video if you choose to send one) will be treated carefully, following our privacy policy - www.sexeducationforum.org.uk/privacy-policy.
- Videos: Please email [email protected] for instructions and guidance on how to send videos to us and to complete our video consent before sharing your video with us.
Further information
If you have any questions please email [email protected].
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